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Demand Response as a Virtual Relay for Distribution System Protection

Zhenhua Jiang, Jason Black, Yi Zhang, Harjeet Johal

General Electric, Global Research Center
Niskayuna, NY 12309, U.S.A.

SUMMARY

While protection of traditional power distribution systems is relatively simple, high penetration of
distributed generation, such as intermittent renewables, will significantly increase the variability in
system operating conditions (including current and voltage) and present challenges for distribution
system protection. For instance, the loss of one distributed generator or a temporary disturbance (e.g.,
a voltage swing resulting from a transmission line trip) may cause another distributed generator to trip
and further trip other distributed generators without proper mitigation actions. One emerging solution,
adaptive over-current protection schemes, may not always differentiate between a real fault and
variation in distributed generation. As a result, rapid variations or disturbances in distributed
generation or the grid may sometimes result in unnecessary tripping of protective relays for both
distributed generators and feeders. These false trips are due mainly to variations in voltage and current
that result from rapid changes in flows. Demand response has the capability to alleviate these
imbalances before any unnecessary relay tripping actually occurs. A virtual relay can be designed in
which demand response is coordinated to automatically act to help protect distributed generators from
cascaded tripping under disturbances or rapid variations. The virtual relay can also prevent
unnecessary feeder interruptions when adaptive over-current relay settings are not updated fast enough
while allowing tighter relay settings to protect against high impedance faults.

The basic principle of virtual relay schemes is to utilize and manage aggregated demand side resources
for very fast response to prevent unnecessary tripping of traditional protection schemes. The scheme
can be implemented in a centralized or a distributed fashion. As an example, to implement a virtual
voltage protection scheme in a distributed way, each demand resource is given local voltage set points
to turn on or off in response to over or under voltage respectively. The responsive loads are controlled
by sensing the local voltages and comparing them with predetermined time-delayed set points. The
demand resources are set so as to trip faster than existing relays in order to return the distribution
system to expected operational profiles in the case of non-fault disturbances. The “virtual relay”
scheme can respond to the loss of one distributed generator due to minor disturbances without
disrupting the feeder operation while traditional protective relays will still trip the circuit breakers
under real faults despite of the actions of the virtual relay. This method reduces outages caused by
false trips of existing protection relays.

KEYWORDS

Virtual relay, demand response, distributed generation, power distribution systems

Corresponding Author: Zhenhua Jiang (jiangz@ge.com)

1. Introduction

Traditional power distribution systems generally are radial in structure and passive in nature, and
protection of such systems is relatively simple. Typical protective devices include fuses, circuit
breakers, sectionalizers, automatic reclosers, and overcurrent relays. The increasing deployment of
distributed generation (DG) may change both the magnitude and direction of power flows in a power
distribution system. Power distribution systems are becoming more complex and dynamic due to the
presence of distributed generation and with new modes of operation, such as islanded microgrids.
Large scale penetration of distributed generation, such as intermittent renewables, will increase the
variability in system operating conditions (including current and voltage) significantly [1]-[2]. These
variations in operating conditions and modes present challenges to distribution system protection. For
instance, loss of one distributed generator or a temporary disturbance (e.g., a voltage swing resulting
from a transmission line trip) may cause another distributed generator to trip and further trip other
distributed generators without proper mitigation actions. One emerging solution, adaptive over-
current protection schemes [3], may not always differentiate between a real fault and the variation in
distributed generation. Therefore, rapid variations or disturbances in distributed generation or the
interconnected grid may sometimes result in unnecessary tripping of protective relays for distributed
generators and distribution feeders.

The above-mentioned false trips are due mainly to the instantaneous imbalance of power supply and
demand. Demand response, which generally refers to the mechanisms for reducing demand
automatically or by consumers in response to utility requests or specific operating conditions [4], has a
capability to alleviate the imbalance and avoid unnecessary relay tripping before it actually happens.
Demand response events can be designed to act as a virtual relay to help protect distributed generators
from cascaded tripping under disturbances. Demand response can also prevent unnecessary feeder
interruptions when adaptive over-current relay settings are not updated fast enough.

This paper presents the concept of using demand response resources as a virtual relay to avoid
unnecessary tripping of existing protective relays in a power distribution system containing a high
penetration of distributed generation. In the following, some existing distribution system protection
schemes will be briefly reviewed and the basic principles of using demand response as a virtual relay
for distribution system protection will be elaborated. The virtual relay schemes will be tested in a few
prototype circuits. Testing results will be presented and analysed.

2. Overview of Distribution System Protection Schemes

Protection of individual distributed generators is an issue when they are connected to a distribution
grid [5]. A lot of work has been done to address this issue [5]-[8]. IEEE Standard 1547 states that
when the voltage at a distributed generator is outside a given range, the distributed generator shall
cease to energize the feeder within a specified clearing time [5], as shown in Fig. 1. The clearing time
is the time between the start of the abnormal condition and the ceasing of distributed generator to
energize the feeder. A goal of this standard is to protect the utility personnel working on the feeder.

The voltage on a feeder in a low-voltage power distribution system may experience large deviations
due to various disturbances such as: [6]-[8]
• Voltage sags in a distribution system due to a fault in the bulk transmission system or
neighboring feeders
• Dynamic swings (in frequency and voltage) following a major transmission line or central
generator trip
• Voltage deviations due to a temporary high-impedance fault in the feeder that may be caused
by physical contacts of lines and ground or between lines through non-conductors (e.g., tree
touches) and be cleared very quickly [7]
• Loss of one distributed generator in a high-DG feeder
• Load changes or loss of a distributed generator in islanding microgrids.

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Under some circumstances, the voltage fluctuations may exceed the prescribed range and trip a
distributed generator. The tripping of one distributed generator may further deteriorate the feeder
voltage profile and potentially result in cascaded tripping of other distributed generators without
appropriate mitigation actions. To prevent this cascading effect and protect the feeder, it is beneficial
to use responsive load to maintain voltage and thus the continuation of as much service as possible
when such circumstances occur.

In addition, high penetration of distributed generation may cause problems to over-current protection
schemes in power distribution systems. As the penetration of distributed generation increases in a
feeder, the fault current seen by the overcurrent relay may decrease. This is equivalent to reducing the
reach of the protective relay since the fault at the end of a feeder may not be detected. To address the
reduction of reach problem of over-current protection relays in the presence of distributed generation,
an adaptive scheme has been proposed that reduces the setpoints of over-current relays as the
penetration increases [3]. With this scheme, however, the setpoints may not be updated fast enough in
practical operation as distributed generation is changing. A potential problem is that the sudden loss
of a distributed generator under full load may result in the tripping of the over-current relay if the
setpoint was reduced to a very low value (for instance, 80% of the rated current of the feeder).
Responsive demand may help avoid false tripping of the adaptive over-current relay in this case if it is
designed appropriately and faster than the over-current relay.

3. Principles of Using Demand Response Resources as a Virtual Relay

The basic principle of virtual relay schemes is to utilize and manage local demand side resources for
very fast response to prevent unnecessary tripping of traditional protection schemes in power
distribution systems. In the operation of distribution systems, the principle can be implemented in a
centralized or a distributed scheme.

This paper takes voltage protection for distributed generation as an example. To achieve a virtual
relay scheme for DG voltage protection in a distributed manner, each demand resource is given set
points to turn on or off in response to over or under voltage respectively. The responsive loads are
controlled in coordination with the operation of the distribution system and distributed generators by
sensing the local voltages and comparing them with predetermined time-delayed set points. The
virtual relay logic for voltage protection will dynamically switch on or off part or all of the responsive
loads at a distribution node to reduce the voltage swings in the distribution system. The demand
resources are set so as to trip faster than existing relays in order to return the distribution system to
expected operational profiles.

These actions will not only help keep the voltage profile within an acceptable range, but they will also
prevent the protective relays from tripping falsely under disturbances. It is not necessary for set points
for traditional protective relays to change, and those protection schemes will still detect and isolate the
real faults. For instance, the virtual relay scheme can respond to the loss of one distributed generator
or to minor disturbances without disrupting feeder operations whereas traditional protective relays can
trip the circuit breakers under real faults despite of the actions of the virtual relay. This method can
reduce power outages caused by false trips of existing protection relays.

To implement the virtual voltage relay principle, it is possible to use distributed intelligence and
control logic to manage the local load, by operating in 3 stages. First, the system analyzes the
distribution system protection scheme to determine the circumstances under which false relay trips or
disconnects of distributed generation due to IEEE 1547 specifications will occur. Second, voltage set
points with associated clearing times are established for each participating load resource. Third, if
voltage exceeds the set points for the specified clearing time, the control logic will turn on or off part
or all of the responsive load. The control logic can return the affected load to normal operation once
the voltage returns to the acceptable range. Some major issues in the design of virtual relay schemes
are discussed as follows.

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3.1 Timing of demand response events

When designing a virtual relay scheme, the determination of the clearing times for turning responsive
load on and off is critical. The basic criterion is that the action of demand response should be faster
than the existing distribution system voltage or current relays. Fig. 1 provides a comparison of the set
points and clearing times for an example virtual relay and a DG operating under the IEEE 1547
standard.
Clearing
Time (s) 0.92 1.05
3 Distributed Generator *
Demand Response

2 * IEEE Std. 1547-2003 Standard for

Interconnecting Distributed Resources
with Electric Power Systems
1

0.16
Voltage (p.u.)
0.5 0.88 1 1.1 1.2
Fig. 1. Comparison of IEEE 1547 under-voltage/over-voltage protection and a virtual relay scheme.
The clearing time varies according to the measured voltage level, as shown in Table 1. Voltages
between 0.92pu and 1.05pu are considered as “normal” and the demand response virtual relay is not
activated. As the voltage falls to between 0.88pu and 0.92pu, or rises to between 1.05pu and 1.10pu,
the virtual relay is activated within 3 seconds. When the voltage goes even lower or higher, the delay
of virtual relay is reduced to maintain a shorter clearing time than for the DG under-voltage/over-
voltage protection. The timing coordination with existing protection schemes is important because
with proper settings the virtual relay may maximize the abilities of sustaining the node voltages and
protecting distributed generators as well as minimize the disruption to the consumers.

Table 1. Clearing Time (CT) under different voltage levels

Voltage Range (in per unit) CT (in seconds)
0 < v ≤ 0.50 0.12
0.50 < v ≤ 0.88 1.6
0.88 < v ≤ 0.92 3
0.92 < v < 1.05 ∞
1.05 ≤ v < 1.10 3
1.10 ≤ v < 1.20 1.6
1.20 ≤ v < ∞ 0.12

3.2 Location of Demand Response Resources

The location of demand response events is another important consideration. Demand resources that are
close to distributed generators have higher impacts when participating in the virtual relay. In the
distributed virtual relay scheme, responsive resources are activated dependent upon local setpoints and
clearing times which may vary according to circuit characteristics/voltage profiles. If the demand
resources at a particular DG location are not sufficient, the resources at adjacent nodes may come into
play, since there may be some correlation between the voltages at adjacent nodes.

3.3 Amount of Responsive Load

The virtual relay needs to determine the amount of responsive load necessary for given conditions.
Insufficient load reductions will not restore voltage to levels that to prevent tripping of distributed
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generators. Excessive load reductions, on the other hand, will result in unnecessary disruption of the
service. A theoretical analysis of the sensitivity of node voltage changes to power flow variations will
give a clear picture of how much load reduction is appropriate. An alternative solution is to use a
sampling approach in a distributed way [9] to phase in load reductions as needed. Typically, the
household load is not continuous. When an appliance or a piece of electronic equipment is turned on
or off, the load consumption changes discretely. So at the household level, it is desirable to selectively
shed part of the load in an increasing order instead of shedding all load at once. The timing of
individual pieces of load can be slightly different, and neighbouring households have random timing.
This will allow for the appropriate amount of load reduction to return voltage to desired levels.

4. Testing Results

The virtual relay scheme discussed in section 3 has been tested on several example distribution
feeders. Some testing results are presented as follows.

4.1. Case Study 1

The virtual relay scheme is first tested on a simple distribution feeder where there are five distribution
buses and lumped loads. For simplicity, assume that distributed generators are located at bus 3 and bus
5 (labelled as DG1 and DG2) with capacities of 45% and 5% of the peak feeder load, respectively.
Distributed generators are equipped with under-voltage and over-voltage relays compliant with IEEE
Standard 1547. The feeder is also equipped with an over-current relay with a setpoint of 2 times the
maximum peak load current and a 0.2 second delay. Also assume that demand response resources
appear on buses 3 through 5. Finally, assume that the voltage regulation responds slower than demand
response events to voltage fluctuations.

Fig. 2. Radial 5-node feeder containing distributed generators.

A simulation model is built on a steady-state circuit of the example feeder system. The nodal voltage
analysis approach is used to find the bus voltages and thus branch currents. The distributed generators
are modeled as current sources. The rated voltage at the substation is 12kV (voltage base value), and
the rated power is 1MVA (apparent power base value). Assume that service transformers bring the
voltage down to 120V. The voltage measurements are taken at each node on the feeder and compared
with predefined setpoints for demand response schemes. Simulation parameters include: Vsource =
1.05pu, Zline = 0.008 + j0.006 pu, Zload = 0.9 + j 0.44 pu. Fig. 3 shows the profiles of bus voltages on
the feeder under 6 different operating conditions.

In the baseline system, DG1 and DG2 are operating at full capacity. The voltage at bus 3 is slightly
higher than that at bus 2, as shown by curve 1, because of the power contributed by the distributed
generator (DG1). The voltage distribution along the feeder is relatively flat and within a narrow range.
As DG1 is lost (which may be caused by cloud cover for a solar PV, for example), the bus voltages
along the feeder decrease, as shown by curve 2. Specifically, the voltage at bus 5 decreases to below
0.88pu. Without other actions, the generator at bus 5 would be tripped by the under-voltage protection
within 2 seconds according to IEEE 1547 requirements. The feeder voltage would then decrease
further and the generated power from DG2 would be lost. In the virtual relay case, half of the loads at

5
buses 3, 4 and 5 can be shed prior to the DG tripping offline. The voltage at bus 5 then increases to
higher than 0.92pu, as shown by curve 3, upon the shedding of partial load. The generator at bus 5
stays connected to the distribution grid, feeding power to the local load. This suggests that the voltage
profiles are greatly improved when the demand response schemes react to the voltage disturbances
resulting from the loss of distributed generators and subsequent generator tripping is avoided.
Typically, voltage can be regulated by the on-load tap-changer at the substation transformer. We
assume that as a result of the loss of DG1 (and after the action of the virtual relay), the substation
voltage is increased by 2% in order to return the feeder voltage to a normal operating range, as
demonstrated by curve 4. When DG1 comes back online (e.g. after the cloud goes away), the bus
voltages along the feeder will then increase, as illustrated by curve 5. Specifically, the voltage at bus 3
will exceed 1.05pu, which would also trip DG1 due to an overvoltage condition, according to the
IEEE std. 1547. Under this circumstance, a follow-up strategy is that the shed load at buses 3 through
5 is recovered. This returns the bus voltages to the accepted range, as shown by curve 6 in Fig. 3.
[Note: the actions of the virtual relay and voltage regulator can be coordinated so that the load is
recovered once the voltage regulation is adjusted, eliminating the over voltage condition seen in curve
5]

The Voltage Profile along the Feeder

1.1

1.05

1
Bus Voltage (p.u.)

0.95

0.9

0.85 1. Baseline with DG1 and DG2

2. Loss of DG1
0.8 3. Loss of DG1, with DR(-)
4. Voltage regulation(2% up)
0.75 5. DG1 back on
6. DG1 back on, with DR(+)
0.7
1 2 3 4 5
Bus Number
Fig. 3. Voltage profiles on a feeder under different operating conditions.
On the other hand, if a three-phase ground fault occurs at bus 4, the bus voltage becomes very low and
the responsive load is first shed within 0.12 second according to the scheme shown in Fig. 1. This
action causes the voltage at bus 3 to increase slightly, but it remains under 0.5 per unit due to the fault
at bus 4. The distributed generator on bus 3 will then be tripped within 0.16 second due to a low
voltage. Due to loss of distributed generators and the existing fault at bus 4, the feeder current
measured at the substation increases and exceeds the setpoint of the over-current relay. The over-
current relay trips the circuit breaker on the feeder within 0.2 second because of a high current sensed
by the relay. This example shows that the virtual relay scheme does not affect the normal operation of
over-current relays under real faults.

4.2. Case Study 2

Another radial 13-node feeder abstracted from part of a distribution circuit is also studied to compare
different coordination strategies with voltage regulation. Assume that the voltage regulator normally
detects the operating conditions every 15 minutes and then determines whether or not to operate.
When the virtual relay triggers a demand response event, it is desirable to coordinate actions with the

6
voltage regulator. An improved scheme would include sending a message to the voltage regulator to
initiate an action within a certain time (e.g., 3 minutes) after the demand response event occurs.

Fig. 4. Radial 13-node feeder containing distributed generators.

The distributed generator (DG2) at bus 23 is assumed to be small. The power generated from DG1 at
bus 18 and the load profiles are shown in Fig. 5. This case study considers two methods of demand
response events: one coordinating with the voltage regulator and the other not. The simulation results
are shown in Fig. 6 for the two cases: independent operation and coordination with voltage regulator.
In the two cases, the set points for the virtual relay are identical across all buses (0.93pu for shedding
and 1.05pu for adding load).

60
DG
Power Profile of DG and Spot Load(kW)

50 Load

40

30

20

10

0
0 50 100 150
Time (minutes)

Fig. 5. Power profiles (in kW) of the spot load and distributed generator (sampled every 5 minutes).

As the DG at bus 18 goes offline, the voltage at bus 23 drops below 0.95pu. Without demand
response, the voltage stays low until the voltage regulator operates (every 15 minutes), as shown in
Fig. 6-a. With a virtual relay (whose setpoint is 0.93 pu for shedding and 1.05pu for adding load), the
demand response is initiated upon detecting a low voltage. A certain amount of load is shed so that the
voltage on the feeder is recovered but the increase in voltage is still limited by the availability of
responsive load. As the voltage regulator operates, it can bring the feeder voltage to a better range. In
a second case, a signal is sent to the voltage regulator to indicate the demand response event, and the
voltage regulator then can operate within 3 minutes. Fig. 6-b shows that the duration of demand
response event is shorter if there is coordination between the virtual relay and voltage regulator.

When the DG comes back online, the voltage at bus 23 increases to higher than 1.05pu since the
voltage regulator is operating to a higher level (i.e., 1.05). Without the virtual relay, the voltage would
need to be brought down to the acceptable range by the voltage regulator, with the inherent time
delays associated with this action. With a virtual relay scheme, the voltage can be reduced quickly so
that the over-voltage protection is not triggered, as shown in Fig. 6-a. Further, with coordination
mechanism, the voltage regulator can operate to decrease the feeder voltage within less than 3
minutes.

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 1.1
1 15 min. VR with DR
3 min. VR with DR
1.05

Demand Response Status

0.5
Bus Voltage (p.u.)

1
0
0.95

-0.5
0.9 15 min. VR with DR
15 min. VR without DR
3 min. VR with DR -1
0.85
0 50 100 150 0 50 100 150
Time (minutes) Time (minutes)
(a) (b)
Fig. 6. Simulation results for coordination between virtual relay and voltage regulation: a. Voltage
profile at bus 23 over 3 hours, b. Demand response status (0 = normal operation, -1 = shedding load,
1 = increasing load).

5. Conclusion

This paper presents the concept of the use of demand response resources as a virtual relay for
distribution system protection. The basic principle is to utilize and manage aggregated demand side
resources to prevent unnecessary tripping of traditional protection schemes in power distribution
systems. This capability can significantly assist in managing distribution systems with high
penetrations of variable distributed generation, such as solar PV. Proper design of demand response
events can help protect distributed generators in a distribution system from cascaded tripping under
some disturbances or help feeder services from unnecessary interrupting when adaptive over-current
relay settings are not updated fast enough. A virtual relay for DG voltage protection implemented in a
distributed scheme is studied in particular. Important design parameters include timing and location of
demand response events and the amount of responsive load. The virtual relay scheme has been tested
in a couple of prototype circuits. Testing results show that demand response events can help protect
distributed generators in a distribution system from cascading tripping under some disturbances. It is
also shown that the duration of the events can be reduced by coordination with voltage regulation.

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